"In three shifts": how Russia is building military plants across country. VIDEO&PHOTOS
Analysis of satellite images shows that Russia is actively increasing production capacity at its military plants. We are talking about enterprises that manufacture and repair tactical and strategic aircraft, combat helicopters, as well as assemble military drones and guided munitions.
It was at such plants that Schemes(Radio Liberty) saw noticeable changes - the satellite recorded the development of a number of military and dual-use enterprises, the emergence of new hangars and workshops, Censor.NET reports.
Kazan Aviation Plant
This is an aircraft plant owned by the state corporation Rostec, located near the civilian airport Borisoglebskoye in Kazan. However, it builds and repairs not only civilian aircraft, but also strategic bombers from which Russia launches missiles at Ukraine.
"In Soviet times, the Gorbunov Aviation Plant in Kazan was one of the most important strategic facilities, as it was engaged in the production and maintenance of strategic aircraft of the nuclear triad: Tu-16, Tu-22 (all modifications - ed.) and Tu-160. That is, the plant's capacities now allow for deep modernisation and repair of the remaining Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 aircraft," aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi told Schemes.
This year, a new large hangar was built on the territory of the Kazan Aircraft Plant. It consists of two combined buildings where the workshop is located.
Journalists first noticed the footage of him in a story on Rossiya 1 TV channel, which reported on the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to the company. It was June 2023.
"Skhemy tracked the construction of this hangar on the plant's territory using satellite images from Maxar and Planet Labs. The first construction work began in 2018, but it was in 2022 that construction accelerated - and this year, according to satellite images, it was almost completed.
The new hangar is 300 metres long and over 180 metres wide. The Russia 1 TV channel mentioned that it is planned to be used for the construction of new civilian Tu-214 aircraft. But given its size, according to military experts with whom Skhemy spoke, this shop can also repair and upgrade strategic bombers.
"As we can see, the hangar consists of two parts. One of them is a room for large-scale assembly or maintenance and repair; taking into account the size and available taxiway, three Tu-160 aircraft can be serviced there at the same time. The second is a building with workshops for repair, manufacture or maintenance of aircraft components. So it is quite logical to assume that parts can be brought into the premises and the finished aircraft can be delivered," explains Anatolii Khrapchynskyi.
"The Schemes noted that back in 2016, the Russian Federation developed a programme to modernise its strategic aviation: it provides for the conversion of old Tu-160s into Tu-160M2s. A significant part of the funds from the billion-dollar state programme was earmarked for the capacity building of the Kazan Aviation Plant.
Irkutsk Aviation Plant
Another state-owned aircraft plant that is increasing its aircraft production capacity is located in Irkutsk. Its speciality is Su-30 fighters of all modifications, which are one of the most popular aircraft types in the Russian air force. According to the international publication The Military Balance, which publishes annual reports on the number of military equipment in different countries, Russia has more than 120 Su-30 aircraft.
The plant both manufactures and repairs fighter jets. In October 2022, a Su-30 crashed into a residential building in Irkutsk, the same city where the aircraft plant is located. At the time, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine suggested that this could have been due to the "poor quality of the Su-30's repairs".
Analysing satellite images from Maxar and Planet Labs, Skhemy journalists noticed that between 2019 and 2021, an extension with access to the runway appeared on the plant's territory near the main facilities, and this year the construction of another, similar facility is being completed. The second building will most likely also be connected to the runway.
According to aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, such facilities can be used to repair small civilian aircraft such as the Sukhoi Superjet and, in fact, Su-30 fighters.
"Such a building is similar to a hangar, but only for routine maintenance and minor repairs. And such premises can be used for any aircraft that it can accommodate, both Su-30s and civilian aircraft, which are also serviced by this plant," explains Khrapchynskyi.
Ural Civil Aviation Plant
This state-owned plant is located in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Although its name suggests that the plant is engaged in civil aviation, in fact, this enterprise, in particular, repairs engines and gearboxes that can be used in military helicopters such as Mi-2, Mi-8, Mi-24 and Ka-52. All these helicopters are actively used by the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.
In September of this year, local Urals publications began reporting on the shortage of staff at the plants. In particular, the aforementioned civil aviation plant is actively looking for employees due to an increase in production.
Starting in late 2021, a new large workshop was built on the plant's premises. It was completed this year. It is 145 metres long and 75 metres wide.
"The new building at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant - formerly Plant 404 - is a workshop where core products, such as aircraft engines, are most likely manufactured. Or auxiliary power units are units that provide additional power to an aircraft or helicopter. Such buildings do not require direct access to the taxiway," explains aviation expert Khrapchynskyi, who was shown satellite images by Skhemy.
Dubna Machine-Building Plant and Kronshtadt
This plant is located in the city of Dubna in the north of the Moscow region. The plant is home to the Raduga Machine-Building Design Bureau, which is part of the Tactical Missile Arms State Corporation.
It is Raduga that produces missiles such as the X-22, X-55, and X-101, which Russia uses to attack residential buildings, shopping centres, and energy infrastructure in Ukrainian cities. One example is the attack on the Amstor shopping centre in Kremenchuk in June last year.
Skhemy journalists analysed satellite images of the company's territory for 2021-2023 and noticed that a large building appeared next to the plant during this period. Construction began in 2021 and was completed this year, according to satellite photos. Two helipads have also been set up nearby. This building shares a common entrance with the territory of the Dubno Machine-Building Plant.
This building is a new private plant for the production of Russian UAVs, owned by the Kronshtadt company.
Its creation was announced in Kronstadt back in 2021. The company's profile is the production of military drones under the Orion, Helios and other brands, with various modifications ranging from reconnaissance to attack drones.
"Kronstadt is a firm associated with the AFC-System holding of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian oligarch from Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
In May 2022, the management of AFK-Systems announced its withdrawal from Kronstadt, while, according to the Russian register of legal entities, AFK-Systems still holds a 49.6% stake in Kronstadt's subsidiary KT-Unmanned Systems, which, according to the company's official website, cooperates with the Russian Ministry of Defence and the FSB.
In June 2022, during the full-scale war, one of Kronstadt's managers announced that the new plant in Dubno was hiring staff because it was "ramping up production".
"The new plant for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles will soon switch to a three-shift operation in order to fulfil the orders received. In this regard, Kronstadt continues to recruit personnel," Alexey Belykh, Deputy Director of Kronstadt, was quoted as saying by the Russian publication TopWar.
In a commentary to Schemes, Ukrainian military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov explains:
"The increase in drone production is a direct result of the full-scale war. Until 2022, they did not rely on UAVs and mostly produced them for export to other countries. Now we see that they have actively started to expand this production for their military needs."
There are also factories of the military-industrial complex that the Russian authorities openly report on.
For example, in October of this year, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu took part in the ceremony of handing over the building of the future Almaz-Antey missile plant in the Rudnevo industrial park of the Technopolis Moscow special economic zone. During the event, Shoigu said that the company will produce air defence systems.
Earlier, in January 2023, it became known that Zala Aero (Aeroscan LLC), a subsidiary of Kalashnikov Concern, had acquired andconverted the Italmas shopping centre in Izhevsk to produce Lancet barrage munitions. In September this year, Vladimir Putin came to see this process.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia has allegedly already begun using new attack drones called Italmass alongside Iranian Shahed-136/139. The manufacturer was not named, but a presentation of similar drones took place at the former Italmas shopping centre.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet commented on or confirmed information about the use of this particular type of UAV.
In a commentary to journalists, military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov explains this active development of military plants across Russia by saying that the Russian leadership is not going to stop the war in the coming years, spending hundreds of billions of rubles on the development of its own military-industrial complex.
"The Russian Federation has a programme for the development of the armed forces and the military-industrial complex that has been in place since 2010, and within its framework, the main defence enterprises are being modernised and new enterprises may be built. As we can see, there is an active "drone war" on both sides, and Russia is placing some emphasis on this, but it is not forgetting about other industries. This may also indicate that Russia is preparing to 'play the long game' in this war and is not going to stop," says Mikhail Zhirokhov.
